The Destruction Series
by Lady Jesca
Summary: Hermione has a secret she’s been hiding from her friends and co-workers. But the fear of losing something precious to her turns her into a woman of action.
1. Woman of Action

Title: Woman of Action (1/1)  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They all belong to one JKR. She's the brains. And.since this is a challenge fic, some of the blame/credit should go to the challenger.Jasper.  
  
Rating: PG-13 (explicit kissing)  
  
Couple: Draco/Hermione  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Author's Notes: This story was in response to a challenge on Cauldron Chronicles. The challenge is from Jasper's Life's Little Destruction Book. It's number 379: Neck and pet in public. It's to be 500-5000 words.so watch me cram in the snogging!  
  
Please email me if you want to put this or any of my stories on your website. I never say no, but I like knowing which sites are supporting my writing. Thanks!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Hermione Granger sighed as she picked up another report and scanned through it. Half way through it, she shook her head and threw it across her desk. She stood up quickly and rounded her desk, opening the door with no small amount of anger.  
  
"Mrs. Flaura, could I see you, please?"  
  
Her secretary smiled and nodded, grabbing a notebook and a magical stylus and head into the office, just like she always did.  
  
"Have a seat," Hermione said. It was clear from the sound of her voice that she was quite irritated.  
  
"Yes, Madam Enforcer," Mrs. Flaura said softly and sat down. Hermione winced. She hated that blasted title. She repeatedly asked people to call her Miss Granger instead. But she was angry enough to let it go for now.  
  
"Now, I know we've had this conversation before, Mrs. Flaura, and I was just wondering if there was some way I could make this task simpler for you."  
  
"Which task is that, Madam Enforcer?"  
  
"The task of sorting the reports in order of importance. When you put this," she grabbed the report she had be reading, "in with the urgent reports I have to waste time trying to find out where it should go and then spend more time trying to ask you to do as I have previously instructed. Only the most egregiously horrible crimes go towards the top of the pile and then they need to be sorted through, again, to determine which cases are the most time sensitive. Only then can I properly read the reports and decide act promptly to send Aurors or other enforcement officers to deal with these breeches of law."  
  
"Yes, Madam-"  
  
"And please don't call me that. Miss Granger will do fine."  
  
Mrs. Flaura bobbed her head in compliance but didn't seem to be sure what Hermione wanted now.  
  
"Here," Hermione said after a moment. She grabbed the lower parts of the reports and handed them back to her. "Sort these properly and return them to me quickly. I will go through these other reports myself."  
  
Mrs. Flaura nodded and gratefully took the reports and left. Hermione shook her head and looked down at the report that was still on the top of the pile.  
  
"'Louie the Lounger has done it again. He has broken into the Withering Broomstick and after drinking his fill of ale and mead, left without payment.' And this is before," she shuffled through the papers and grabbed another, "'Muggle child death suspected to be the cause of a Dark Wizard.'" She shook her head in disgust and then frowned at the report. She put down Louie's report and read, in it's entirety, the report about the muggle child.  
  
Being the Enforcer was a dream come true for Hermione. After graduating from Hogwarts, she knew that she wanted a job within the Ministry. She had taken a job as the assistant of the last Enforcer and now she had his job. It was amazing how quickly she was able to move into this position, and she suspected she was one of the youngest to have done so. Her job was very important and time consuming, as she would have it no other way. Her job was simply to decide what crimes different sub-departments under her would be investigating. But her job was far from simple. She decided when an investigation warranted Aurors or when they merely require a written warning. It was a huge undertaking, but Hermione worked very hard, night and day, to see to everything that had come under her responsibility.  
  
A perk of the job, one she regretfully didn't get much of a chance to enjoy, was the fact that both of her best friends, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, were Aurors and therefore in positions under her. It was gratifying to give orders and have them followed, even if Ron did enjoy calling her Madam Enforcer with such a tone as to make the title seem dirty. As usual she would blush and retreat to the relative safety of her office while Harry and Ron cackled behind her. But when she scheduled them for boring work, she knew it was she that was getting the last laugh.  
  
It was a happy existence. For the most part.  
  
An intercom sounded and Mrs. Flaura's voice could be heard. "Miss Granger, your mother is on line 2."  
  
Hermione shook her head. "I'm very busy right now. Tell her I will talk to her later."  
  
It had been a while since she had talked to her mother, but she knew she was not in the mood to listen to talk of her friends' children and how most of them were married and giving grandchildren. Her life had more purpose than that. It wasn't that she didn't want children, eventually, but she was far to busy for such a distraction at this point in time. She had plenty of distractions as it was. Hermione smiled a little secretive smile to herself. She didn't want to tell her mother that she had found a someone. It was far too soon for that.  
  
As if he knew that she was thinking about him, Draco Malfoy apparated into her office, making her eyes widen in shock.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she got up to hurriedly close the blinds on her door. She turned and saw him standing in the same place he had apparated to, watching her with a small half smile. Maturity had been very kind to Draco Malfoy. He had grown to a comfortable height of nearly 2 meters. He towered over most people, but she was tall for a girl and was about a quarter of a meter shorter than him. His nearly white blond hair was kept short in the back but his bangs hung loose over his forehead, almost hitting his crystalline blue eyes. His chest had acquired a broadness that tapered down to a slim waist and powerful looking legs. He was, as usual, clad in a black suit, contrasting with his pale skin and blond hair in an awing way. She could not help but look, but quickly realized he was staring at her with open amusement.  
  
"Look your fill?" he asked arrogantly. She scowled a little in response and put her head up in the air, making her way to her desk with as much dignity as she could muster. He didn't let her get quite to her desk, though. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her to his chest and making her inhale audibly. "Not that I mind," he said with a slow smile. She could feel his arm snake around her waist and press her to him. She could not resist. She placed her head on his chest and exhaled softly.  
  
They embraced in the middle of her office for nearly a whole minute when Hermione finally looked up at him.  
  
"What are you doing here? You could get us both in big trouble. I don't think it's quite professional for me to be having relations with one of my Aurors." Her voice held a tinge of guilt and worry that she did not mean to convey, but Draco just smiled.  
  
"Hermione, relax. I'm not going to do anything to you. Not here anyway," he smiled wolfishly, making her swallow and blink in response.  
  
"How did this happen?" she mused aloud to herself.  
  
"You gave in," he said with a chuckle. He let her go and went to sit in the chair across from her desk, letting her have her moment to collect herself and make this meeting more formal. She sat behind her desk, thinking about all the changes in her life. What he said about her giving in was the truth.  
  
After graduating from Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy attended training to be an Auror, alongside Harry and Ron, to their utter horror, of course. They had assumed Hogwarts would be the end of their association with Draco. The void that Voldemort made when Harry finally destroyed him for good left many people believing that Lucius Malfoy would be the next Dark Lord. In truth, Hermione knew that there were many Dark Wizards competing for that position and Lucius Malfoy was just one of them. It had seemed strange that Draco would train to become an Auror when being one would force him to track down people like his father. But Draco Malfoy was full of surprising changes.  
  
Though many did not know it, Draco was not close to his father anymore. He trained to be an Auror against his father's wishes and strained the relationship greatly. In public, Lucius Malfoy played the part of the proud father, for Draco was already an accomplished Auror, but in private, he despised Draco for the work done against him. Hermione only knew these things because she had many opportunities of late to observe them.  
  
Along with his association to his father, Draco's attitude took a different turn. No longer was he unwilling to work with other people or be lead by someone else. He was quiet and calculating. One look in his deep eyes let you know that he was always contemplating the information that surrounded him. He had a noble appearance and quite a sense of humor, when the opportunity arose for him to show it. The most shocking outward change in Draco, though, was his willingness to bury the hatchet with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. True to form, Harry accepted the truce with grace and wariness, but Ron treated Draco with outright hostility. Aurors were organized singularly or in groups of two or threes. Because many of her Aurors were not as understanding as Harry and were more in line with Ron, Draco worked alone for the most part, but sometimes on large jobs he teamed up with Harry and Ron. She had though he would hate those times, but he admitted to her that he liked the chance to show them he chanced. She wondered if Harry knew how desperately Draco tried to make things right between them. In her eyes it just made Draco that much more alluring.  
  
Hermione had much reason to believe that maturity had also had good effects on her. She was often asked to dinner or coffee dates, which she declined respectfully in most every case. Her hair was still long and curly, but the bushiness had long since tamed. Her body had caught up with her growing height, and she knew some of the men in her department watched her curvaceous body when they thought she couldn't notice. But she was floored when one of the dinner dates had come from Draco Malfoy himself. She had refused him, naturally, but after a time he wore her down and she went with him believing that if she did, she could finally get his image out of her mind and she could concentrate again. Instead, they forged a relationship in secret that had lasted ever since. She couldn't help but be charmed by him and the way he guarded her from his inner pain just made her want to know it more. He had a way of drawing her eyes to him in a crowded room and she was starting to be able to feel when his eyes were on her. So in truth, she did give in. And she was happily his conquest.  
  
"What are you doing here, Draco?"  
  
"I thought you could use a break," he said simply. "Most of the department has gone to lunch. It would not be unheard of for you to do the same." His eyebrows wagged and she smiled. She glanced down at the report on the top of her large pile.  
  
"I don't know. I have things I need to take care of."  
  
"Ok. So take care of them after lunch. It isn't as if your reports are going to walk away."  
  
She shook her head. "Draco, you know we can't go to lunch together. It wouldn't be good to be seen."  
  
He lost his smile and his face darkened a little. She inwardly groaned at the old argument that was imminent.  
  
"My purpose isn't to harm your precious reputation by having you be seen with the likes of me," he said moodily.  
  
"Draco," she said softly, standing to come around the desk. She sat on the edge of her desk, in front of him. He looked up at her with such a beautiful look of hurt. She couldn't help but see all of his looks as beautiful now-a-days. "Please don't be that way. It isn't that at all. It's just, you're and Auror and I'm-"  
  
"Madam Enforcer?" he said with a smirk.  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me that," she said with a playful glare.  
  
"I rather like it," he said.  
  
"I know."  
  
He smiled briefly, but his face went back to looking slightly wounded.  
  
"Draco, I just think that maybe we should wait a while. Just until." she trailed off, not able to find an appropriate event to spring upon the world her relationship with Draco Malfoy.  
  
"Go on. When? When shall we tell the wizarding world about us?"  
  
Hermione looked down. "I don't know."  
  
"What are you afraid of, Hermione?" he asked as he took her hand in his.  
  
That was a good question. What was she afraid of? For one, her friends' reaction frightened her a little bit. His father and his father's reaction to his son dating a muggle-born witch scared her a little. But mostly, she was afraid of what the relationship would evolve to if it were allowed to spread past stolen nights and hidden messages.  
  
"Is it me?" he asked softly.  
  
"No," she answered quickly, sliding off the desk to kneel in front of him. "It's not you. Draco, I know so much more about you now. I understand why you were nasty at Hogwarts and I understand the pressures that were put on you as a child.the pressures that are still put upon you. But I am not afraid of you. At all." She looked him in the eye, waiting for him to accept this truth. Finally, he did so with a nod. She smiled a little at him. "In honesty, what frightens me about this whole thing is me."  
  
He looked at her quizzically. "I don't understand."  
  
She smiled a little and blushed, but didn't take her eyes off of his. "Draco, if we let this.what we have.if we let it be known, where will it go from here?"  
  
He appeared to be thinking about that for a moment. "I don't know. But wherever it goes, don't you think it's time?"  
  
Hesitation stayed her answer for a moment. "I just want to have you to myself for now. I don't want to have to share you with my parents and my friends and my life, just yet."  
  
Draco's face hardened a bit. He stood up, dropping her hand and walking away from her. "You're ashamed."  
  
"I'm not!" she said, standing up quickly.  
  
"Then prove it, Hermione," he whirled to face her. "Leave this office with me and leave this building with me to go to lunch." His eyes bore into hers and she knew that if she went with him their relationship would change and if she did not, their relationship would change. He had forced her to a fork in the road and she weighed both choices, while he waited for her answer. If she didn't go with him, their relationship might not survive. Did she want to take that chance?  
  
With shaking hands, Hermione undid the fasteners on her robe. A smile touched Draco's face as she pulled away the wizard robes to reveal a more muggle-like outfit of slacks and a blouse. She slowly walked to the hooks on the side of her office and put the robe upon one and grabbed the jacket that matched her slacks. Draco didn't bother taking off anything he wore. His overly long jacket would seem old fashioned but the cut was gorgeous on him and he could easily pass for muggle wearing what he did.  
  
After Hermione was finished getting ready she looked at Draco with uncertainty. He held his arm out for her and she smiled a little. He really was a beautiful man. She should be proud to be on his arm. She nodded to herself and took his arm. His chest puffed out a little as he opened the door to her office and they walked past her secretaries desk.  
  
Mrs. Flaura was eating her sandwich at her desk but she looked beyond shock to see Hermione walk out with Draco Malfoy.  
  
"I'm going to lunch." She glanced at Draco for a split-second. "A long lunch." Mrs. Flaura nodded clumsily as Hermione and Draco walked down the hallway and then down the flight of stairs that separated her office from the cubicles of the Aurors. This was going to be the hardest part of their trek out of the building.  
  
Few Aurors had not gone for lunch, but those few who were left, stared after the two with wide eyes. No one tried to stop them or say a word to them and Hermione was glad for that. Usually she couldn't walk out of her office without being attacked by her Aurors, all wanting information of some sort or permission for something. Harry and Ron were not among the Aurors left in the building, though, and Hermione was glad for that little bit of luck.  
  
With fewer stares, but with no less shock, Hermione and Draco walked down to the lobby of the building and then finally to an exit. Through the whole trek she kept her head high and tried to conduct herself with the pride she knew she rightfully felt at being the girl on the arm of Draco Malfoy. It wasn't as if many of the girls within the Ministry of Magic hadn't tried diligently to be where she was right now. It was exhilarating and quite nice to finally come out with the truth.  
  
When they were finally outside the Ministry of Magic, Hermione let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Draco chuckled softly.  
  
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked with amusement.  
  
"Hush," she said quietly and he chuckled some more. He led her away from the building to a nearby park and then offered her a seat on an empty bench. She sat beside him, unsure of what to say. She looked around nervously for other Aurors or employees of the Ministry.  
  
"Relax," Draco murmured, betraying his lips' position close to her ear. She shivered when his warm sweet breath tickled her lobe.  
  
She turned her head towards him, finding their faces very close together. She almost closed her eyes for the kiss, instinctively, but then she jerked her head back.  
  
"Draco," she hissed. "What are you doing?"  
  
Draco smiled and put one arm across the back of the bench and moved closer to her. She moved away so that they were at an appropriate distance but he came closer again. His face looked predatory and she started to swallow, her throat not working for the lump in it. She moved back again and realized she was against the end of the bench. He grinned evilly as he closed the space between them.  
  
Her eyes danced around his face, and she was unable to say anything as his look of want held her in captivation. His other hand took hers and his thumb caressed her fingers gently. Her eyes closed and he took the opportunity to lean in and kiss her.  
  
Her mind shut down. She didn't even remember that they were in a public place where many of the employees of the Ministry went for lunch or to get from lunch back to the office. Instead, all she could focus on was the lips that softly caressed hers.  
  
"Relax," he breathed between kisses and she tried. Her mind wasn't sure why she was so tense, but something felt foreign. "Just be with me," he said softly before claiming her mouth again. Unable to resist, or to really want to resist, Hermione melted against him, opening her kiss to him. He took the invitation with fervor, delving his tongue into the warmth of her mouth.  
  
Hermione's arms went around Draco and he let go of her hand to pull her closer to him. With one hand wrapped in her hair, he turned her head more to the side and took passion from her mouth. Moans that sounded more like purring came from her throat as she surrendered to him. Her tongue fought to find its way into his mouth and her excitement started to increase as she became more forceful about it. There was no doubt in the people who could see them that she wanted this man as much as he wanted her.  
  
Completely forgetting herself, Hermione slipped one of her hands into his jacket and pulled up the shirt tucked into his pants. She slid her hand onto his burning skin and he groaned in response. She shivered at the sound of his pleasure and gently scratched her nails down his back to hear it again. She was not disappointed.  
  
"What the devil are you doing?" an astonished voice reached into her mind. Before she could respond, Draco was tugged away from her forcefully and she was left in a state of confusion as the warmth they were creating together was doused with a wave of cold. Her eyes could only just barely focus as she squinted against the light of the midday. Finally, she started to realize as she sat there, panting from her earlier exertions, where she was, and who was holding Draco down not far from them. She sprang up and pushed past Harry to Ron, who was forcing Draco's face into the soft grass of the park.  
  
"Ronald Weasley you let him go this instant," she said, drawing her wand. Everyone stopped in their tracks. Draco stopped struggling. Ron stopped fighting him and looked up at her with surprise. That surprise was mirrored on Harry's face. She had never drawn her wand on her friends before. "Let him up," she said with much anger.  
  
Slowly Ron stood up, not offering Draco a hand up, but letting him up nonetheless. Draco quickly stood up and scowled at the redhead. Harry and Ron weren't paying any attention to him just now, though. Instead, they were watching as Hermione hesitantly put her wand away.  
  
"What has gotten into you?" Ron asked with astonishment. "I thought he was attacking you." He looked from one to the other, not seeming able to believe it was anything else. She looked at Harry and understanding seemed to shine in his eyes.  
  
"Come on, Ron," he said, pushing the other wizard along the path the bench was sitting by.  
  
"But Harry," he said with some confusion.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Ron looked at Hermione and her chin came up. She held her hand out to Draco and after a moment he silently took it and came to stand beside her. Ron just shook his head, still not processing the information his brain was taking in. Harry continued to try to push Ron away, a look of embarrassment on his face.  
  
Draco and Hermione just watched until they were a good distance away. She turned her head to look at him, suddenly feeling very bold. With a wicked smile she shoved him back down onto the bench. He looked pleasantly shocked when she descended beside him and brought her face close to his.  
  
"Where were we?"  
  
"Having lunch," he said, his voice thick with desire.  
  
"Ah, yes," she smiled and kissed him again. The fire spread from her lips to cover them both as they sat, in broad daylight, snogging on the bench in a public park. 


	2. Opposite of Nice

Title: Opposite of Nice (2/?)  
  
Series: The Destruction Series  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. The world and characters belong to JKR while the challenge belongs to Jasper. I'm just filing in the blanks.  
  
Couple: Draco/Hermione (in mention)  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Summary: Ron seeks to deal with the realization that Hermione and Draco are dating. And he goes to his brothers to find some comfort. Insanity ensues.  
  
Author's Notes: This story is in response to Jasper's Life's Little Destruction Book challenge #440: Refuse to have a nice day. It's to be 500-5000 words in length. And have I mentioned how clever I think these little challenges are? Very clever.  
  
I had written another challenge from this same book about Draco and Hermione. So when I was thinking of this one, I thought it might be fun to write a sequel to that story. Then I thought that perhaps I would write a series of stories using these challenges specifically. So I'll call the series the Destruction Series. An apology to those sites where I put (1/1) on the last story (Woman of Action). So if you're confused by the (2/?) by the title, the first story is called Woman of Action and can be found on Cauldron Chronicles. It will be on my web page soon, but if you can't find it, just email me and I'll send it. :)  
  
Also, in case it wasn't clear in the first story, this story is taking place well into the future of the books. The trio is out of Hogwarts and working for the Ministry of Magic.  
  
Please email me if you want to put this or any of my stories on your website. I never say no, but I like knowing which sites are supporting my writing. Thanks!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Ron just stared at the side of his cubicle in disbelief. He didn't seem to really be putting two and two together right now. He just let the noise of the place flit over him as he tried to get a handle on what he had just witnessed.  
  
The office was bustling with activity and gossip but Ron didn't try to listen to any of it. Instead he glanced over his right shoulder to find Harry Potter leaning up against the wall of his cubicle.  
  
"What?" Ron snapped at the look Harry had on his face.  
  
"She's a grown woman, Ron." He knew what Ron was upset about and what he meant, so no explanation was required. Still, Harry's words seemed to irk him more.  
  
"He's Draco bloody Malfoy," Ron said slowly, as if this was reason enough for Hermione to have her adulthood privileges yanked from her.  
  
"Yes, I know," Harry said. He grabbed the stool he commonly sat in when he visited Ron's workspace and sat on it, watching him warily. And with good reason too.  
  
Ron looked at the papers thrown all over his desk and noticed that his keyboard was sitting in his waste can, although the contents of the waste can were strewn all over. The poster he had on his wall of his favorite Quidditch team was torn and the players were trying to dodge the tear as they continued to pass the Quaffle to each other. He scowled at a picture of Hermione, Harry, and himself as it sat on his desk, all smiles. He was contemplating tossing it over the barrier to Malfoy's cubicle when Harry spoke up again.  
  
"Ron, maybe you should take the rest of the day. I'll floo you if anything comes up that I can't handle. I'll take care of this place. I'm sure Hermione will understand."  
  
Ron almost bit out a sarcastic remark, but he held it back. This wasn't Harry's fault. Besides, he didn't want to be here when Draco and Hermione came back. He looked at Harry, his anger draining for a moment, to stare at his friend bleakly.  
  
"How long.?" He trailed off the question but Harry seemed to know what he meant.  
  
"I don't know, Ron. I would have told you, I swear."  
  
Ron nodded. Harry was a good friend. And he probably would have told Ron if he'd known.  
  
"I just don't get it."  
  
It wasn't a secret to anyone with eyes that Ron had a lingering crush on Hermione. During their sixth year at Hogwarts they had started dating exclusively and everyone had thought they would wind up together. But sometime in the seventh year, they had broken it off. No one really knew why and Ron liked to keep it that way. He hadn't even told Harry the whole story.  
  
Really, it was his own fault. Ron had no illusions that he was the smart kid in the family. Percy had always filled that slot. Even Bill and Charlie were bright. But they were different. Bill and Charlie were both smart and athletically good-looking. Life was easier for them. Things just came to them naturally. Percy had been real smart but not very good- looking at all. His demeanor was much smaller and he was too weak for any real athleticism. Fred and George were average looking blokes, but they had this charisma about them that just bowled people over. Their strong personalities more than made up for any plainness in their looks. And they were pretty smart to boot, although they never took anything very seriously. Ginny was smart, although not smart like Percy. And she was pretty, when she wanted to be. She was a little like Bill and Charlie. Things were simpler for her. Being the only girl in the family meant that she got special treatment and an easier time. Ron had the athleticism and after he had grown out of his awkward stage, he filled out in the chest and arms very nicely. His voice was deep and his freckles were less noticeable. But he struggled with everything scholastic. It wasn't so much his lack of studying, despite what Hermione said, but rather his fear to be wrong or to look stupid.  
  
It became a commonplace thing to start to measure himself up to Hermione. It never really bothered him that she was so smart before, but suddenly it did. It was intimidating. She constantly got higher scores on her exams and on her papers. She always seemed to know just what books to read and just what to write. She got exemplary marks in her classes and by far more O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s than he did. Now, no one else was surprised by this and Ron knew he shouldn't be either, but he had started to kill himself to out perform her, only to fail each time. And when he failed he became moody and angry and in the end he started to take that anger out on her.  
  
At first she had tried to be soothing and tried to tell him that she liked him the way he was. But that only equated to 'I like you stupid' to him. Instinctively she started to slack off in school to try to give Ron a head start, but that only pissed him off more. He didn't want to get better grades than her because she was trying to let him win. He wanted to win because he was smarter. It meant everything to him and quite suddenly their relationship turned very uncomfortable.  
  
When Hermione told him she needed to talk to him the day she broke up with him, he had known it was coming. He thought he accepted the break-up quite gracefully. He knew what she was saying was true and that he had put undo stress on her for something so stupid as his own ego. He would have taken it all back if he could, but by then the damage had been done and she just wanted to be friends. He thought he was getting a pretty good deal out of this if she wanted to be his friend still, so he didn't push it.  
  
But the mere fact that they stopped being boyfriend and girlfriend did not mean that he stopped caring for her. He tried desperately to get good grades in the remainder of his classes in his seventh year partially to prove to himself that he could, but secretly he was still trying to impress her with his brain. And when Hermione had quite naturally out-performed him, he smiled and hugged her and congratulated her, trying to show her how mature he could be about it. She seemed grateful for the maturity, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle. Nothing he did now could erase the way he had undoubtedly made her feel in the past when he made her feel bad for being smart.  
  
The only good thing about his mucked up experience with Hermione, is that he developed better study habits and had gotten far more O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s than he probably would have otherwise. It was an easy thing for him to graduate Hogwarts and become an Auror, like he had wanted to be. That Hermione was his boss was something he had to adjust to. In the beginning there was some weirdness, but for the most part, she treated them fairly and her experience with them left her trusting them to the really difficult cases. He and Harry were good at what they did and they were getting a reputation for being some of the best Aurors in this batch.  
  
The only thing that took the fire out of becoming and Auror and getting to work with Harry and Hermione was the fact that he also had to work with Draco Malfoy. Ron had never expected Malfoy to become an Auror and actually if he were asked Ron would have thought that Auror was the last thing Malfoy would willingly do. But there he was, in living color, mucking up Ron's experience by just being there. Ron had secretly hoped he'd fail, but Malfoy could be smart when he needed to. It was some sort of sick luck that his workstation was right across from Ron's.  
  
Even more intolerable were the times that Hermione asked Harry and Ron to work with Draco. This usually only happened on special cases, so it wasn't often, but once was too many times for Ron. Harry had seemed to come to some sort of understanding with Malfoy, and they were civil to each other when they were working together, but Ron couldn't be so civil. After all, not only had Draco Malfoy made his Hogwarts life hell at every chance, but his father, Lucius Malfoy, had made Ron's family's lives miserable at every chance as well. It wasn't something one could forgive so easily. As a matter of fact, Ron had gleefully planned to never forgive the gits.  
  
All in all, life wasn't so bad until now. Ron had realized his newfound maturity and hoped that he could impress Hermione with it. He had been hoping that since she had been turning down dinner invites from other co- workers, she had maybe harbored some deep hope that they'd get together again as well. But now, he knew why she wasn't dating anyone: because she was too busy dating Malfoy.  
  
As his thoughts turned back to the two of them dating, Ron's face got stormy and his anger returned. His eyes focused on Harry, who was just watching him.  
  
"Yeah. I think I better go."  
  
Harry nodded and seemed relieved. He patted Ron on the shoulder. "I'll clean this up."  
  
"Thanks, Harry," Ron mumbled as he yanked off his wizarding robe and put a jacket on over his white shirt and blue tie. He stuffed the robe into his bag and without glancing one way or another he headed towards the lifts to get out of here. People around him stopped talking long enough for him to pass by and then resumed with a flurry of whispers once they had his back, but he didn't care.  
  
When he reached the lobby of the Ministry of Magic and he was almost out, he spotted Hermione and Draco. They stopped, spotting him at the same time. Ron didn't know what to do. He didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling here. He looked at Hermione's face, trying to make his impassive, but he knew his feelings were too fresh for that. Hermione looked at him with what seemed to be sorrow. Ron's eyes flickered to the blond beside her. To his credit, he didn't wear a smirk or a smile. That would have been too much for Ron. Instead he looked slightly uncomfortable, like he had stepped in the middle of something he shouldn't have. And well, he had as far as Ron was concerned. Still, even as he wasn't smirking in triumph at Ron, Malfoy still held the hand of Hermione in his.  
  
Ron swallowed a lump in his throat. His eyes glanced back at Hermione and noticed she looked as if she would approach him. He knew he couldn't talk to her right now. Quickly, he turned his face away from them and locked his eyes to his escape route. Glad for his long legs, he was able to carry himself out quickly. He thought he heard Hermione call his name from behind him, but he didn't stop to find out.  
  
The cool breeze of a mild summer's day hit him in the face but he barely noticed the pleasant weather he had been so happy about earlier. Earlier things were much simpler. Earlier he didn't know about Hermione and Malfoy.  
  
Absently he walked to the park bench where he and Harry had seen Malfoy and Hermione snogging. At first, Harry and Ron had both assumed that Malfoy was attacking Hermione. Ron had tackled him to the ground and was ready to beat the life out of him for it, but he had known pretty quickly afterwards that there was more to it. When Hermione came to Malfoy's defense, Ron's mind quit working. The only reason he was able to leave was because Harry pushed him away, annoying him with comments that Ron was sure was supposed to calm him. In truth, Ron didn't need the calming then. He was too numb to do anything. But when he had gotten back to the Ministry, his workspace paid the price of not having vented his anger sooner.  
  
Ron stood, staring at the offending bench, his hands in his pockets. He needed to talk to someone. He needed advice.  
  
It was an easy thing to find an alley where he would not be seen apparating. In no time at all he was standing on a street in Hogsmeade in front of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. He smiled a little at the exterior of the building. It was painted gaily and with dynamic advertising on the doors and windows it depicted the kind of shop that it was.  
  
Ron pushed the door open and walked inside.  
  
"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard-oh.it's just you," Fred finished dully. Ron glared at him.  
  
"What brings you to our humble shop?" George asked as he put a box down on the counter. Ron was thankful for the large name signs they used to distinguish themselves, although he rather suspected that Fred was wearing a name tag saying 'George' and vice versa. They never tired of that trick. "Did Mum send you here as a spy?" Both their eyes narrowed suspiciously.  
  
"You don't think mum knows what you two clowns are up to?" he asked heatedly. The twins grinned and looked at Ron with a new light in their eyes.  
  
"What's your problem?" Fred asked.  
  
It was on the tip of Ron's tongue to tell his brother to mind his own, but he didn't. He had come to them for advice and he wasn't going to get it if he didn't ask. He looked at the both of them and nodded. He opened his mouth to speak when a customer came to the counter.  
  
"Oh, good choices," George said, eyeing some of their purchases. He rang them up while Fred smiled and commented on his favorites and Ron stonily watched them do business.  
  
"Have a nice day!" Fred called after the boy when he left with his goods. Fred turned his attention to Ron. "Come on then, out with it."  
  
"It's about Hermione," Ron started. Immediately the twins grinned ear to ear. The gesture was expected but it still ticked him off a little more. "If you two jokers can't be serious I'm not telling you." He crossed his arms in front of him. He knew he was being childish, but it was impossible not to be when faced with the ultimate childishness of the Weasley twins.  
  
The twins immediately donned a non-smiling face. It wasn't a serious face, but it was better than the grins. Ron sighed and rubbed his face with his hands in frustration.  
  
"Is she dating?" George asked softly, almost compassionately.  
  
Ron nodded. He watched the twins as their faces suddenly became more serious.  
  
"I'm sorry, mate." George said. It was about as real as Ron ever remembered him.  
  
"Yeah, but you knew she would eventually, right? I mean, have you seen her lately?" Fred nudged George and gave Ron a look that made him want to reach across the counter and pop his head right off his shoulders. But he was right.  
  
"Yeah, I knew she would. But it's not just that she's dating. That I could handle." He ignored the doubtful looks the twins gave each other. "It's more who she's dating."  
  
Fred gasped in surprise. "Not Harry?"  
  
"No," Ron said as if Fred had lost his marbles. He hesitated to tell them who, and ignored Fred all together and looked into the face of George, who was taking this quite seriously. "Draco Malfoy," Ron muttered miserably.  
  
It was as if time stood still for a moment. Then it slowly began to move as George's serious face turned into one of astonishment and Fred's astonished face turned into one of laughter. Suddenly time sped to catch up with Ron as Fred was howling with laughter and George was trying to shut him up. Ron shook his head. It was a mistake to come here. Even if George was being sporting about it, Fred was not helping.  
  
Ron exchanged a look with George and turned to leave him to deal with their brother who was laughing so hard he was holding his side.  
  
"Have a nice day!" Fred yelled at him through laughter.  
  
For whatever reason, something within Ron snapped. Have a nice day. He froze. He just came here to tell his brothers that the girl of his dreams was dating the lowest life form in England. Have a nice day. He had just watched as his best hopes of happiness walked through the lobby of the Ministry of Magic hand in hand with his worst nightmare. Have a nice day? He had seen Malfoy getting the attention he only dreamed of now a days while sitting in broad daylight in the park. Have a nice day? Ron turned to face his brothers. George was watching him with curiosity while Fred was grinning stupidly at him as if he knew what Ron was thinking. Ron saw red.  
  
"No."  
  
"No what?" Fred said with incredulity.  
  
"No, I will not have a nice day."  
  
Fred cracked a smile at the lunacy of this statement. Ron knew it was crazy, but he didn't care. He would not have a nice day.  
  
"Yes you will," Fred decreed.  
  
"No, I will not," Ron said, his teeth gritted together.  
  
"Fred," George said quietly, as if to warn his brother.  
  
"No, you will have a nice day, because I said so," Fred said with a triumphant smile.  
  
Ron took a few steps towards Fred, murder in his eyes. "I will NOT have a bloody nice day!" he yelled. Ron could see from the corner of his eye a customer who backed out of the store.  
  
"You're scaring away the money," George said to his twin.  
  
"I don't care. He's going to have a nice day if I have to force him to," Fred said, obviously getting into the spirit of Ron's insanity.  
  
Ron couldn't help it. He completely lost his ever-loving mind. He yelled at the top of his lungs while he leaped over the counter and tackled a smirking Fred.  
  
He didn't know what came over him, but suddenly nothing was more important than seeing this person pulverized. His fist slammed into Fred's face once, twice, a third time before Fred pushed him down and flipped over so that he was covering him and pushing his face into the carpet of the shop. Fred grabbed Ron's right arm and twisted it painfully behind his back.  
  
"Give!" he shouted into Ron's ear.  
  
"Have you two lost it?" George shouted. Ron got the idea that he was on the other side of the counter, away from the scuffle.  
  
"Give!" Fred shouted again and tugged Ron's arm up painfully. With all the strength Ron had he got to his knees and slammed his back, Fred still attached, to the wall behind him. Joke candies, toys that popped loudly, and other merchandise rained down on their heads. "Ow!" Fred yelled as something big struck his head. But he hadn't let go of Ron's arm so Ron leaned forward and slammed him back again, harder. This time he was freed.  
  
Scuffling around to get to a position to where he could fight again, Ron turned on his hands and knees, but wasn't quick enough as Fred tackled him to his back, making him hit his head against the floor, hard. Fred had his forearm at Ron's neck and was smiling like he was having the greatest time, even though his nose was bleeding from Ron's earlier punches. Ron couldn't help but smile back as he brought his knee up hard, making Fred's smile not only disappear but pain crease his face. Suddenly Ron's smile became maniacal as he pushed Fred off and punched him in the stomach.  
  
He lifted his hand to punch Fred in the face again, when he felt it grasped. Suddenly he was being pulled up and over the counter and far away from Fred by George, who looked like he had had quite enough of this. Ron struggled a moment, but realized his brother was warily keeping his limbs pinned so he could strike back. Fred was struggling to get to his feet. Finally, Ron relaxed.  
  
George pushed him towards the door. "Go on now. And don't come back until you're sane!"  
  
Ron looked passed George to Fred. In spite of his injuries, he was able to be on his feet. Blood ran down his nose and the side of his lip. He held his stomach and crouched over, still feeling the pain between his legs. Ron nodded with satisfaction.  
  
"I will not have a nice day," he said with finality before he turned and left the store.  
  
He knew from the looks he was getting from the people passing by, he must have looked like he'd just been roughed up. He tried smoothing his hair down, but then didn't bother with making himself look nice. He apparated to his apartment, a little two bedroom flat that was not far from the Ministry. He took his jacket off and let it sit on the floor where it fell. He went to the kitchen and grabbed himself a bottle of ale and took it to the living room to his favorite chair. Sitting down and taking a big swig of the drink, he realized his lip was split, probably from when Fred had struggled to get his face to the ground. The salt in the ale stung the lip, but he didn't stop drinking and he didn't try to cover his lip. He just let himself feel the pain and stared at the wall while he finished his ale.  
  
Despite his utter wishes to feel miserable, he knew that the fight with Fred had actually cheered him. With insight, he realized that Fred probably knew he needed to work out some aggression and pushed him until his aggression flowed. With a sigh, Ron picked up the phone and dialed the number to his brothers' shop.  
  
"Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, this is Fred," came the cheerful voice of his brother.  
  
"It's Ron."  
  
"So it is," he heard. Ron smiled. "Can I talk to Fred?"  
  
"How do you know I'm not?"  
  
"Because I think you guys switched your name tags today."  
  
"Smart lad," he said and Ron could hear the phone exchanging hands.  
  
"George here."  
  
"It's Ron."  
  
"Ah, scheduling round two?" came the cheerful voice of Fred.  
  
"No. Just calling to say thanks."  
  
There was silence on the other end for a moment.  
  
"You owe me an ale," Fred said finally.  
  
"Done."  
  
"Good. Have a nice day!" he practically yelled before slamming the phone down. When Ron heard only the sound of a dead line he growled and slammed his phone down to the receiver. 


	3. Process of Change

Title: Process of Change (3/?)  
  
Disclaimer: Characters belong to JKR and the challenge idea belongs to Jasper. So only the way the words appear on the page is my idea.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Couple: Draco/Hermione  
  
Spoilers: None  
  
Summary: Redemption is a road wrought with many obstacles, not the least of which is the familiar comfort of 'old habits'.  
  
Author's Notes: This story was written as part of a series of stories written for the Destruction Challenges on Cauldron Chronicles. The challenges come from a book called Life's Little Destruction Book. This one is #88: Sneer at people who try hard; it needs to be 500-5000 words long. There are extras that can be put into this one, but I think I will leave the extras to write individual stories on. :)  
  
This story is a continuation of the stories Woman of Action and Opposite of Nice. If anyone is interested in reading the two stories that precede this one, you will soon be able to find them on my web site, and you can email me for them. Or you can join Cauldron Chronicles, if you haven't already, at and read them there. And while you're there you can take part in these challenges if you like.  
  
Just some notes on the story: All the kids in Harry Potter are adults now and the core group works at the Ministry of Magic. So all of them are old enough for adult situations and we might just have to test that out later.;)  
  
Please email me if you want to put this or any of my stories on your website. I never say no, but I like knowing which sites are supporting my writing. Thanks!  
  
*~*~*  
  
It was an amazing day. He couldn't have asked for better. His lips still burned from when they blazed a trail down Hermione's neck. He touched his tongue to them as he sat in his cubicle. He gave a satisfied sigh.  
  
Something bumped the cubicle across from him. Weasley's workstation. Draco knew that Weasley had left. His mind flashed to the scene in the lobby when he and Hermione were faced off with Weasley. A part of him, an old part of him, reflexively smirked. He got the girl. But very quickly he reigned in that feeling and frowned at himself. That wasn't him anymore.  
  
Draco stood up and walked around the row of cubicles and made his way to Weasley's. When he reached it, he saw who was making the noise over here. Potter was on his knees picking up papers that were strewn all over. Draco took inventory of Weasley's station. It was a mess. He must have torn it up after the park incident. When he looked down again, he realized Potter was looking up at him with an odd expression on his face.  
  
This would have made him happy, years ago. First to have gotten Weasley so upset that the chap was throwing things around would have given him a special kind of happy. But also that Harry Potter was on his knees in front of him. His mind easily conjured up dozens of snide remarks that could be made at a time like this.  
  
"Will he be all right?" Draco asked in stead. He knew his face was carefully schooled, as it usually was. He was careful not to show too much emotion at work. He was the Frost King. It was a nickname given to him by some of his co-workers. He didn't let it bother him, since he was purposefully hiding any emotion he could from the masses. But Potter was different. He was the closest Draco had come to having a friend at work. Everyone else avoided him like he were Voldemort back in the day. That was fine. But once in a while he'd be paired with Potter and Weasley on a case and so far Potter had been decent to him. Given everything that had happened at Hogwarts, decent was better than Draco had expected.  
  
Potter was looking up at him with a very curious stare. Finally he nodded a little and resumed picking up papers. "I think he'll be fine. It'll just take him some time to adjust."  
  
Draco nodded silently and looked over at the picture of Hermione on Weasley's desk. Well, it was a picture of the three of them, but Hermione was who he was drawn to first.  
  
"It was quite a shock," Potter said suddenly, breaking Draco's thoughts. His eyes went back down to Potter. He didn't know what to say to that. He wasn't sorry it happened. It was about time that people knew he and Hermione had been dating. But he felt funny about leaving the statement unanswered. Instead of answering he knelt down and started to help Potter clean up. He could see Potter staring at him in shock out of his peripheral vision.  
  
"It's not new."  
  
"I gathered. Hermione doesn't strike me as the type to snog in public on the first date."  
  
Draco smirked at that. "No, she isn't."  
  
"So how many dates did it take?" Potter asked him.  
  
"I assume you mean 'how long have you been dating.' Because otherwise it's none of your business." Again Potter was watching him with some astonishment and like he had expected the bragging. Draco handed the other man the stack of papers he had collected and began throwing obvious trash back into the waste can. "We've been seeing each other for a few months now."  
  
He could see Potter nod a little. He looked like he had something on his mind. When Draco was done with the trash he looked at Potter. Potter was on both knees next to him, while Draco was on one knee. Anyone passing by probably would have been caught staring had the men been looking in their direction.  
  
"Go on, Potter. You can say it," Draco said with an impassive look on his face.  
  
"Say what?" Potter looked confused.  
  
"Aren't you going to tell me that if I hurt her I'll be at the receiving end of your wand?" Draco wanted to smirk as if that would be a laughable threat. Instead he kept himself cool and let little emotion pass onto his face. Truthfully, he didn't want the threats, but he would understand them.  
  
"No." Potter stood up and offered a hand to him. Draco's left eyebrow shot up and he clasped arms with him, letting Potter help him to his feet. Draco let go, but Potter held fast to his arm. Draco's ice-blue eyes touched green ones. "I suspect that if you hurt Hermione you would feel more pain than I could give you with my wand, or without it," he added.  
  
Draco blinked, not trying to yank free of the other man. They stared at each other in silence for nearly a full minute. Draco could tell the office got real silent. They could be seen, now that they were standing, and most everyone looked as if they assumed Potter was doing the brotherly thing and threatening to beat the tar out of him. But Draco stopped worrying about them and what they thought and focused on what Potter had said. Yeah. If he hurt Hermione it would be far worse than what Potter could do to him. But that would only be true if he truly cared for the girl, and the way Potter had said it led Draco to believe Potter believed he cared for her. Finally he nodded.  
  
"That's right," he said softly. "It would tear me up inside."  
  
Potter smiled a little and let him go. "Well, then it wouldn't make much a difference what I'd do, would it? Although, I think it's only fair to warn you," he said, looking at Draco with a half-smile, "if Ron were to find out you hurt her, I don't think he'd care if what he could do to you would rival what you already felt. He'd try."  
  
Draco smiled at that. He couldn't help it. Even though Potter was doing his best to be diplomatic in a difficult situation, he still found a way to fit a very deliberate but subtle threat in there somewhere. Maybe things were going to be ok after all. Weasley had made him start to think that the next few weeks were going to be a battle.  
  
"Is everything ok here?" Hermione's voice sounded from beside them. Both of them looked over to her, relaxed and smiling. She looked confused.  
  
"Yeah, everything's fine," Potter said. "Draco and I were just cleaning up Ron's station." He set the papers down on Ron's desk and Hermione stood there blinking at the other man. In truth Draco was surprised as well by the use of his first name. It was the first time Potter-or maybe he could just be Harry-had called him just Draco.  
  
Hermione was looking at him and he couldn't help but smile at her tenderly. He knew Harry was staring, but he didn't care. He didn't want to hide how he felt anymore. Then he realized, Hermione was looking at him for conformation. She thought Harry was picking on him and hiding it. It was enough to make him laugh, but he refrained.  
  
"Everything is fine, like Harry said. I just though he could use some help. Since this," he motioned to the half-cleaned mess, "is partly my fault."  
  
"You trashed Ron's station," she asked with her eyebrows raised.  
  
"No, that was Ron," Harry said.  
  
"Well," she said looking from Harry to Draco, "then it's not your fault." He could see her back and shoulders stiffen a little at the talk of Weasley. She was mad that he didn't seem to understand the two of them together. But Draco didn't really expect that either of her friends would understand. He wondered if she secretly thought it would all just be ok. He wondered if she was aware that Weasley still coveted her. He thought about how he would feel right now if he were Weasley and something dark and dangerous rumbled in the back of his mind. He took a step towards Hermione, capturing her full attention.  
  
"Don't be so hard on the bloke," Draco said softly so that only she and Harry could hear. "He still fancies you. Always has. And now he knows you're mine. I can see what's got him so upset. I wouldn't do so good if I lost you to anyone else, but I'd probably do worse if I lost you to someone I couldn't stand." He swallowed and purposely fixed his face into a blank look. He didn't want anyone to see how all of this affected him. He couldn't help but acknowledge the truth that ever since he'd broken away from his father and the teachings of the Dark Lord, he's wanted to bury the hatchet with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. But even as he could not help but acknowledge that to himself, he did not want anyone else to know it. Hermione knew, but that was different. Besides, there were parts of him that still believed he deserved the treatment he got from the others. It didn't make the change harder, but rather easier.  
  
Hermione was smiling at Draco as if he was some sort of demigod and it was intoxicating. He was wishing them on a park bench this moment, but was interrupted by Harry's tasteful clearing of his throat. He let his attention be drawn to the work space.  
  
"Well, shall we?" he indicated to Harry and then started putting Weasley's writing utensils into the cup where he'd seen them before. Harry continued helping him and Hermione went back to her office. No doubt she had seen the pair in the cubicle and had come to rescue him. He thought that was sweet and planned to show his appreciation to her tonight.  
  
"You're surprising," Harry said finally, after the cubicle was straightened up.  
  
Draco just nodded, accepting that. Harry smiled and headed back to his own workspace. It felt good to be on this side of Potter and for the first time since he'd started as an Auror, he had to try not to smile to himself as he walked to his desk. The temptation to smile did not last, however, as he turned the corner around his cubicle to see his father lounging in his chair. Draco forced himself to keep from reacting.  
  
"Father," he said stiffly, acknowledging the man he was growing to despise.  
  
"Draco," his father acknowledged, his voice taking on the light almost sing- song nature it did when he talked to people he loathed. Well, at least it was mutual.  
  
"What manner of hell has frozen over to make ready for this occasion?"  
  
His father smiled, almost as if pleased by that response. "Interesting choice of words, dear Draco. Yesterday I would have thought it would take sub-zero weather in the pits of hell before my son dated a mudblood." Draco narrowed his eyes and tensed up. "Since it is obviously snowing there now, I dare say a lot of unexpected events will be occurring."  
  
It was subtle. Too subtle to know whether his father's threat was serious or not.  
  
"You don't control my life anymore. That includes who I see."  
  
"So you say," Lucius said with a dangerous gleam in his eye.  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?" they heard as Hermione came up the line of cubicles to stop at Draco's and glare at his father.  
  
"Miss Granger. How lovely to see you," he said with a sneer.  
  
"Yeah, I'm thrilled to see you too. Get out."  
  
Lucius' eyebrows rose and Draco thought his father might burst into laughter. One thing Draco knew his father liked was a good challenge and he always found those people ballsy enough to confront him without fear the source of great challenges. When Lucius stood up to tower over Hermione, Draco let his hand visibly trail to his hip, where he kept his wand.  
  
"Well now, Miss Granger, I'm not sure the Minister would share your enthusiasm for throwing me out of your offices. After all," he said, lazily looking around, "Malfoy money did pay for a great deal of this."  
  
"Be that as it may, that does not give you the right to be here. You gave your money freely and the moment you did it became property of the Ministry of Magic. Therefore anything spent with that money also belongs to the Ministry. And since I am in charge of this particular office I will thank you to be on your way. You are not welcome to dally in these offices whenever you choose. Unless you have an appointment or business here, I suggest you go."  
  
Draco almost swallowed his tongue. Where had this woman come from? Where was his soft and pliable Hermione? All of the sudden she very clearly fit the roll of Madam Enforcer.  
  
He saw motion out of the corner of his eye and when he turned his head he saw Harry Potter coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, his wand pointed to the ground, but out nonetheless. Draco looked back at his father because to not see this reaction would have been criminal.  
  
If possible, Lucius' face got more rigid as his eyes fell on Harry Potter. His eyes barely flicked to take in the odd sight of Draco and Harry standing side by side, but other than that, he didn't give as much of a reaction as Draco would have liked. It was almost disappointing.  
  
When Draco's eyes met the similar eyes of his father, his head came up.  
  
"Actually," Lucius said smoothly as he looked down at Hermione. "I did have business here. With you, actually. I was merely dropping by to pay my respects to my son."  
  
Something wasn't right, because suddenly he seemed much more respectful than he ever had to Hermione. Draco looked at him passively, but he was very concerned about this new chain of events.  
  
"I wasn't aware we had an appointment," she said icily.  
  
"We do not. I apologize. I had thought that I could drop by to take a brief moment of your time without the hassle of an appointment. I will not make so grievous an error in the future." He accentuated his apology with a slight bow.  
  
Hermione looked unsure, but she just nodded. She gestured for Lucius to precede her to her office and Draco felt alarm wash over him. He did not like the idea of Hermione being alone with his father.  
  
"Are you sure?" Harry said, his thoughts obviously in line with Draco's own.  
  
Hermione only nodded and made eye contact with Draco for a moment before following the senior Malfoy up the stairs.  
  
It was an agonizing ten minutes before the office door opened. Harry, who had stayed at Draco's workspace incase he was needed, looked up as Draco did and watched as Lucius Malfoy descended the steps separating Hermione from the many Aurors under her care. Hermione watched him as Lucius walked out of the offices altogether, sending a small smile Draco's way. That smile chilled him.  
  
Draco looked up, but Hermione was no longer at her office. Instead she was walking towards him and Harry.  
  
"I have an assignment for you two."  
  
Harry's eyebrows rose in question and he looked to Draco. Draco just nodded. Although he could not quite keep the worry out of his eyes, he was sure the rest of his face was blank.  
  
"There is a family of muggles in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Their child was kidnapped. There is evidence to lead us to believe a Dark Wizard was the kidnapper. I'd like the two of you and Ron to take this case." Draco nodded and gathered a stylus and some cut parchment. "I want you two to see what information you can get from the family before the Obliviators blur their memories."  
  
"Meet me at my desk, I have to grab a few things," Harry said, throwing a small smile to Draco. He was giving Draco the opportunity to talk to Hermione. At that moment, Draco felt something akin to genuine friendliness towards Harry Potter. When Harry had left the two of them, Draco focused his attention to Hermione.  
  
"What did he want?"  
  
"For us to have dinner with him and your mother."  
  
"No."  
  
Hermione's eyebrows rose. "Draco, I already accepted."  
  
Draco blinked. "What in the devil made you do that?"  
  
"I don't know your mother."  
  
"So?" Draco was looking at her as if he believed she might be suffering from some sort of mental deficiency.  
  
"So, while I know your father is a prat, I have no idea what your mother is like, and I'm curious."  
  
"Well, you could have asked. I'd have been happy to answer any question on my mother you had."  
  
"Well, now I don't have to," she smiled sweetly before turning on her heel to go back to her office. Draco watched her leave for a moment and shook his head. He grabbed his stuff and met Harry by his desk, which was to the left of Weasley's. They left together and headed towards the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.  
  
"What did he want?" Harry asked after they were alone in the lift.  
  
"To cause trouble," Draco said. "He invited Hermione and I to sup with he and my mother. She accepted."  
  
Harry groaned, making Draco's lips turn into a half-smile. "My sentiments exactly."  
  
When they reached the third level they made their way to the Obliviators' offices. There they were greeted by Neville Longbottom. He seemed to be surprised to see Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy walking side by side to his office. At the last minute, Draco decided to let Potter take charge of this part of the operation and he let himself trail a step behind so that Longbottom naturally would address Harry.  
  
"Alright Harry?" Longbottom asked, shooting a furtive look towards Draco. Draco just leaned against the doorframe and gave a small dangerous smile. Some of his old self wanted to bleed through. He was actually considering what Longbottom would do if Draco growled at him. It might be fun to see him wet his pants.  
  
"I'm fine, Neville. We're here to see the muggle family that's here."  
  
Neville got a sad look on his face and nodded. He looked at Draco again, accusatory and less afraid. The look made Draco's chin raise as well as his ire. This was the part he always hated. Every time a Dark Wizard was blamed for something looks were given to Draco as if he had some knowledge of it or as if he had helped said Dark Wizard.  
  
Draco followed Longbottom and Potter into a room where three scared muggles sat. The two older ones were obviously the parents of the child, while the other was possibly a brother of the missing child. He looked to be about seventeen years old, and obviously rattled.  
  
"I'll take the boy," Draco said quietly after Potter had made the introductions. He led the boy into a small room and offered him a seat. He sat across from him in the room and took out his cut parchment and stylus. After speaking a command word, the stylus stood upright and was readied for recording. The muggle, Jeremy, stared at the sight with wonder.  
  
"I'll be using this to record our conversation so it can be of some use to my co-workers." Jeremy just continued staring at the stylus as it wrote what Draco said. "Jeremy?" Finally Jeremy looked up and into the face of Draco.  
  
"They took her," he said and the stylus wrote what he said.  
  
"Who took her?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"What did they look like?"  
  
"I-I don't know."  
  
Perhaps it was the stress that he felt at a dinner with his parents or maybe it was the way Longbottom kept staring in at him suspiciously from the doorway, but Draco suddenly had no patience to call his own.  
  
"What were they wearing?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
Draco sneered. It was obvious the boy was scared but this was not productive.  
  
"Well, were you present when the child was kidnapped?" Jeremy nodded. "Well then, can you tell me anything at all about what happened."  
  
Jeremy looked up at Draco for a moment. "They took her."  
  
Draco's sneer deepened and he rolled his eyes. "Obviously."  
  
There was a knock at the door and Harry was there. Draco blinked like he was coming out of some trance. His eyes went to the content of the parchment and he read what he had said. Shame flooded him.  
  
"Is everything ok here?" Harry said, looking primarily at Draco.  
  
Draco nodded and looked from Jeremy to Harry. "He's frightened."  
  
"Can you handle it?" Harry asked. Draco thought about that for a moment and then nodded.  
  
Harry nodded before leaving, pulling the door shut.  
  
"I apologize, Jeremy. Let's start again." Jeremy nodded. "Is there something I can get you? Coffee maybe?" He shook his head. "Ok. Any help you could give us will ensure your sister comes back safe and sound. Can you remember anything about that night?" Draco carefully schooled his expression into one of concern.  
  
"It was dark. And, I think he was wearing a dress." Jeremy's eyes went to Draco's black robe.  
  
"Like this?" Draco asked. Jeremy nodded, turning his attention back to the stylus.  
  
"His hair was long. He had a midget with him. It was bald with big ears." Jeremy just seemed to focus on the stylus as he talked. It seemed to help, so Draco tried to do nothing to needlessly draw his attention away from it. He turned the pages of the parchment slowly, hoping that the action would not distract the boy from the train of thought he was on.  
  
"Is there anything else?"  
  
Jeremy shook his head and finally looked from the stylus to Draco. "'Cept the tattoo."  
  
Draco's skin started to tingle.  
  
"Can you describe it?"  
  
Jeremy nodded and immediately and accurately described the Dark Mark to the very location they were usually placed.  
  
When Draco finally rejoined Potter and Longbottom he had everything he could get from the boy. Harry looked at him and he nodded to confirm that it was indeed a Dark Wizard that took the young girl.  
  
"Take care of them," Harry said to Neville. Neville just nodded with a sad smile and wished Harry good luck. He said nothing to Draco.  
  
As they walked back to the lift that would take them to their own floor Harry was glancing at him.  
  
"What?" Draco asked finally.  
  
"It bothers you, doesn't it?"  
  
"What does?"  
  
"That you're still lumped with the Dark Wizards."  
  
Draco stepped onto the lift, followed by Harry and waited for the witch to leave it. When the doors closed he sighed.  
  
"Compared to many of the wizards around here, I am a Dark Wizard."  
  
"I suppose. But some things are different," Harry said softly.  
  
Draco smiled a little and nodded. "Some things are the same, though," he said as he pushed the sleeve of his robe and shirt up to reveal the ugly black mark that Jeremy described so perfectly moments before. 


End file.
